The tennis whites were as crisp as ever, the long snaking queue every bit as well-behaved, the courts clipped expertly to the same flawless, velvety fuzz. With a familiar thwack, grunt and ripple of applause, Wimbledon eased itself on Monday into another fortnight of sporting drama with a distinctly British sensibility.

And yet, for all the reassuring familiarity of the championships' opening day rituals, was there something ever so slightly different about the mood as the crowd surged into the SW19 grounds as the gates were opened? The alien sense of British sporting success, perhaps?

"Oh yes, it definitely feels different this year – buzzier," said Anne Douglas, a Leeds-based Scot and Wimbledon devotee, making her fifth visit to the championships. "I think there's a real expectation. We believe in ourselves a bit more this year."

On the stroke of 1pm, the man responsible for that feeling walked on to Centre Court and into a rapturous standing ovation that he acknowledged with a shy wave. Wimbledon grants the honour of opening play on its prestige court to the reigning men's singles champion, and on Monday that role fell to Andy Murray, the first Briton to defend his title in 77 years. As Murray and his opponent, the Belgian David Goffin, were taking their seats, the final member of the Scot's coaching team slipped almost unnoticed into hers. Amelie Mauresmo has been working as Murray's coach for just a fortnight but their professional partnership has already generated more newspaper headlines than some players manage throughout their careers.

Though derided as a politically correct gimmick by the Australian player Marinko Matosevic and a stunt by Virginia Wade, Murray's hiring of the French 34-year-old, herself a former Wimbledon and Australian Open champion, has been applauded in other circles as groundbreaking. He doesn't much care about either view, believing her to be the coach he needs to fit with his game – and his mindset – right now.

Murray had been anxious before the match, he said later, so the reception as he entered, struck by memories of his last competitive match on the court 351 days ago, was welcome. He had talked to Mauresmo about what that moment would be like, he said later. "One of the things she said was she tried to take in the atmosphere and the experience of walking out as the champion, you never know if you will have the chance to do that again." He had enjoyed it while he walked to the chair, he said, "and then when I sat down it was time to get on with business."

His coach had also offered advice about the pressures that fall on a champion trying to defend his title. Mauresmo struggled with her nerves during her playing career and was mocked as a "choker" after her own confidence let her down in successive championships – though reaching the world number one ranking in 2004, she didn't win her first grand slam until two years later.

Mauresmo sat in the players' box next to the player's hitting partner, Dani Valvertu, and between the other two women in his life, his longterm girlfriend Kim Sears and mother Judy, who in characteristically playful tweets has given the pair the Brangelina-style tag #Murresmo. Though more animated than the stony-faced Ivan Lendl, who abruptly ended his coaching partnership with Murray in March after successfully guiding him to two grand slam victories, Mauresmo watched coolly, betraying little emotion.

On the mound above court one, the buzzy afternoon heat that had already seen a ballgirl faint on an outside court within the first few games brought a soporific mood, as many spectators divided their attention between the match on the large screen and refilling their glasses. Others crammed on to the grass at the top of the hill, all the better to see the centre court action.

Jen and John Crayden from Sandhurst, Berkshire, follow tennis throughout the year but had never been to SW19; the chance to watch Murray defend his title, however, had proved irresistible. Coming through the gates after queueing for four hours, said John, had been "very emotional for both of us". Did they feel the way the nation approached Wimbledon had changed since Murray's victory a year ago? "There's a bit more confidence, perhaps. More British pride. Gosh, he really must feel the pressure."

The pressure on Murray wasn't helped by the exits of most of the other Britons playing on Monday, with James Ward, Kyle Edmund, Daniel Cox, Dan Evans and Johanna Konta all losing to their first round opponents. There was delight for Naomi Broady, however, who beat Timea Babos of Hungary, pocketing at least £43,000 in the process. Broady had her LTA funding withdrawn in 2007 over "inappropriate" photographs posted on a social networking site, since when she has been self-funded.

A year ago, she revealed, she had been researching how to become an au pair and very close to giving up tennis when she got a surprise Wimbledon wild card.

"It's been tough. I don't have any money for myself. You have to use all of your money back into your tennis but that's what I decided to do. But sometimes your hard work pays off and you've only got yourself to thank for it, so you can be really proud of yourself."

Back on centre court, if Murray was feeling under pressure, he managed not to show it, tidying off a relatively comfortable straight sets win over the lowly-ranked Goffin. So what, he was asked after the match, had working with Mauresmo brought that was different from his relationship with Lendl? "The way they communicate is different. The way they speak to you is different. That's for sure."

That was the key to good coaching, he said. "I'm not going to work well with every single coach or every single person. It needs to be the right personality fit. I hope I found that."

In a rare moment of levity, he also revealed the reason he had agreed to guest edit the Beano in the runup to the tournament – an unexpected affinity to Dennis the Menace as a child. "I was a bit like Dennis, probably. I wasn't particularly well-behaved when I was a kid. My mum would definitely say that."

And Wimbledon champion or no, it's clear that rebellious streak has never quite left him. Asked if he felt his presence at Wimbledon would give British sport fans something to cheer about in the wake of England's World Cup defeat, the player looked murderous. "No. I'm here to do my thing. I don't think that the English football team get asked about me in their press conferences. So I'd appreciate it if it wasn't brought up when I was playing." At least success hasn't changed him.